Golden Knights Lose Despite Paul Cotter’s Scrap

Somewhere out there is a ragged and ripped Vegas Golden Knights gold Paul Cotter jersey. It was damaged not by over usage or by a drunken fan but in the heat of battle on Cotter's own body in his first NHL fight against Troy Stecher.

Cotter, who has been up and down the lineup for the Golden Knights for the past couple of weeks, tried to make an impact during the Golden Knight's Thursday game against the Calgary Flames. He was successful. Down 0-2 with no signs of offense at the time, Cotter motivated his team in a more unique way.

The Golden Knights then went on to tie the game by scoring two goals from Zach Whitecloud and Reilly Smith. Clearly Cotter's jersey-changing fight motivated the team in their attempt at a comeback.

"He plays with a lot of emotion. I think we got a bit of a jump from that. It was nice to even up the game and give ourselves a better footing… Congrats to Paul. I think he's done a good job all year playing with a lot of excitement and emotion," said Smith, who scored the second VGK goal of the night.

Cotter's opponent, Stecher stands at 5-foot-10 and 184 pounds with a resume of four NHL fights to his name. So it was a bit of a surprise to see the 23-year old rookie Cotter drop the gloves, but one could argue Cotter got the better of Stetcher, ending the fight on top of the Flames defenseman.

"It brings energy at that time in the game. For a guy like like that, and that's not me talking down to Paul, it's not something he normally does, and for him to be able to step up like that and get in the game that way it gets the boys going," said Whitecloud.

For Cotter, this fight couldn't have come at a better time as the forward has just two points in his last 13 games. His role in the Golden Knights lineup has not been a permanent one as he has been shuffled in and out of the lineup all season. 

The addition of Ivan Barbashev and Teddy Blueger at the trade deadline as well as the sudden emergence of Pavel Dorofeyev has his forward lines once again going through construction. 

Perhaps Cotter will get on the box-sheet in a more traditional way against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. After all Cotter was the man that finished off the VGK's first meeting with CBJ, scoring in the shootout. These two teams will play at 1:00 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.